View: Portsmouth Academy must heed Hudson advice to avoid heavy Leeds loss
Portsmouth Academy have a huge contest on the horizon against their Leeds United counterparts but risk losing heavily if they do not heed the advice of Sam Hudson.
Pompey’s youngsters have been given a massive platform to impress as Monday’s (16 December) FA Youth Cup clash with Leeds is taking place at Fratton Park.
That will allow some of the up-and-coming gems to – fingers crossed – put on a show in front of what will hopefully be a relatively healthy home crowd.
However, on the basis of the recent 4-1 loss at Swindon Town, improvements are quickly required ahead of the visit of a strong Leeds side eager to advance to the next round.
Portsmouth Academy to face Leeds United at Fratton Park
Incredibly – and indeed worryingly from Pompey’s perspective – Swindon led by four goals at the interval in that Youth Alliance League clash earlier this month.
Miles Obodo scored twice, while George Alston and Ali Stewart were also on target to ensure the contest was over before the interval, rendering Tayo Singerr’s goal nothing more than a consolation.
Speaking to the club’s official website after that match, Hudson said: “The first half was probably the worst of the season for us and we just didn’t get going.
“We were incredibly poor out of possession, with our duelling and tracking of runners – things that we usually pride ourselves on. We were just camped in our own half.
“We played right into their hands and that was particularly disappointing, with 22 shots for the home side telling the story. If you don’t do the work out of possession against good sides then you’ll get punished – and that’s exactly what happened.”
Portsmouth need to improve quickly
As Hudson rightly said, allowing the opposition 22 shots is quite simply not good enough. Leeds will be baying for blood and it is down to the Pompey youngsters to stand up to the test.
Hudson would not doubt have been working on making his side much more compact ahead of this cup tie, with the aim of hitting Leeds on the counter.
Pompey are ninth in the league with 10 games played, although that does not tell the full story due to the discrepancy in terms of the number of games each side has played.
This visit of Leeds is a great chance to show that lessons have indeed been learned on the back of an unacceptable display against Swindon.
In other Portsmouth news, Don Goodman has shared what the club need to do in the January transfer window.
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